Eragon's Dilemma
by Tori of Lorien
Summary: Before the battle of Farthen Dur, Eragon goes to Murtagh to help him solve a serious dilemma.
1. Chapter 1

**Eragon's Dilemma**

**Summary**: Before the battle of Farthen Dur, Eragon goes to Murtagh to help him solve a serious dilemma.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters or the lines from the movie that I threw in. They belong to Paolini and the guy who directed the movie Eragon.

**A/N**: Hey! Thanks for reading Morzan's Legacy if you have been. Chapter seven will be on soon. Anyway, this is my first attempt at a humorous Eragon story, so please be nice. I kind of combined the book and the movie a little, which is where I got some of my later lines. It might be a little funnier if you have seen the movie, but it's not necessary to get the full enjoyment of it. Anyway, a special shout out to **Halo** for giving me this idea and supporting me to pursue it. Thanks a bunch!!!! Well, enjoy!

Murtagh looked up from the book that he was reading when he heard the lock on his door open, and he was mildly surprised when he saw Eragon enter, looking slightly worried. The guard gave the older boy a dark look, then closed the door tightly again.

Eragon sighed and slowly sat down on the cold floor next to Murtagh, still looking anxious. "Listen, I need help." he whispered quickly. "You're the only one I could go to, since you're my friend."

"Okay, now you've caught my interest." Murtagh said, setting the book aside. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, don't laugh, but there's this girl…" Eragon muttered, noticeably looking uncomfortable.

"Arya." Murtagh cut in, smirking.

Eragon was startled. "Am I really that obvious?" he asked, alarmed.

Murtagh laughed. "Um, not really, Eragon. I can just read you like a book." he answered. "You see, there's this little thing called _instinct_ that let me know. Women have their intuition, so I guess we were stuck with instinct…"

The Rider sighed with relief, making his dark-haired friend laugh harder. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could…" Eragon said, shaking his head in defeat. "How do I talk to her?"

"Wouldn't you rather talk to Saphira about this?" Murtagh wondered. "She's a girl. She would be able to tell you what a girl would like to hear."

"Yeah, but that's different. She's not exactly human, and she would laugh at me." Eragon told him. "You're a guy, Murtagh."

"Well noticed." Murtagh muttered, rolling his dark eyes. Like he _wasn't_ laughing at him?

"You've had experience talking to girls, haven't you?" Eragon finished, ignoring his friend's comment. "Come on. Please?"

Murtagh grinned. "Well, maybe a little…" he said, getting to his feet. "All right. I'll help you. Are you ready?"

Eragon nodded, pulling out a spare piece of parchment, a quill pen, and a bottle of fresh ink. He dipped the tip into the shiny liquid and held it above the blank parchment, looking up at Murtagh expectantly.

The dark-haired boy laughed. "You're such a nerd, Eragon." Murtagh commented. "Don't let Arya know that, though. It'll ruin your reputation."

The Rider began to write these words down, but stopped and frowned. "Hey, I'm not a nerd!" Eragon protested.

"Do you want me to teach you or not?" Eragon asked, crossing his arms.

"Sorry." Eragon muttered. "I won't disagree with you again."

Murtagh smiled. He was beginning to enjoy this… "The first step is your approach." he told him. "Do you have anything in mind?"

"Well, since she's well enough to fight in the battle against the Urgals, I thought that I would just talk to her before." Eragon replied.

"That's a good start, but you need to have a way to get her attention." Murtagh said. "Some women like the "macho" type of guy, but don't try that. You're nowhere near that level yet. For you, I would say to try the "needing help" method, where you pretend you need help with something. Put simply, just be yourself."

The dark glare Eragon gave him made the older boy laugh again. "I'm kidding, Eragon." Murtagh muttered. "But being yourself is the best thing you can do. There's nothing that a woman hates more than someone who pretends to be someone they're not just to impress them."

This, Eragon wrote down.

"Now, after you get her attention, you have to say something to her." Murtagh continued. "But you can't say something dumb like "you look fit for battle". That is just so cheesy, not to mention way, _way_ overused. Plus, you're stating the obvious. She'll be dressed in armor for crying out loud! You have to be unique and say something that's not used as much."

"Like what?" Eragon asked as he wrote this information down. "What do you say, Murtagh?"

Murtagh laughed for what felt like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes. "The things that I say, Eragon, are _way_ out of your league. You're not ready for that yet." he answered. "You have to start smaller and simpler. Say something like "you look nice today". Women always like when they're complimented on their looks."

Eragon smiled as he wrote down this information. _You look nice today._ He could remember that. He knew for sure that he wasn't going to make himself look like an idiot and by saying _you look fit for battle_…

"Then, of course, you have to have a charming, suave nature when you speak with her." Murtagh said. "Of course, Arya likes you the way you are, so you might not want to do that, at least, not yet. You'd be jumping ahead if you did that…"

"So, I _shouldn't_ act suave?" Eragon muttered blankly. This was getting confusing…

"Exactly." Murtagh agreed with a grin. "Just be yourself, remember your approach, and say something nice but simple. If you remember these things, then you should be fine."

Eragon nodded. "All right. I'm going to study this before we're called to battle." he said, getting to his feet. "Thanks, Murtagh."

Before the older boy could say anything, the Rider quickly hugged him. "Okay, Eragon. Get off." Murtagh muttered, embarrassed. "We're friends, but…"

The Rider was unaffected by this. "Thanks, Murtagh!" he repeated, smiling. "Hopefully I'll see you in the battle!"

Murtagh nodded with a small smile, watching as his friend left the room, the door locking shut behind him. The boy sighed, picking up the book again and finding the spot where he had left off.

"He's hopeless."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Eragon struggled with his armor, trying to get the last top part of it fastened. Why was it so hard? It didn't seem like it should be. Murtagh stood near by, tying his sword around his thin frame as he watched the young Rider. Well, at least he was getting the approach right…

Suddenly, Eragon gasped when he felt someone else's hands fasten his armor for him. "It's not as easy as it looks, is it?" Arya asked, giving him a small smile.

Eragon turned fully around to look at her, and Murtagh watched to see what would happen next. Hopefully, he would remember the opening line. He _had_ to.

The Rider was stunned as he looked at Arya. She always looked beautiful to him, but not many girls could pull off the full-armored look well.

But what was that line that Murtagh had told him to use? He said something about battle, but he wasn't sure if he said to use it or not… He would just have to go with something. He couldn't back out now.

"You look… fit for battle."

Murtagh sighed when he heard his friend use the infamous line. He had clearly stated _not_ to use that line. Hadn't he been paying attention at all?

"Wow, Eragon," he muttered to himself, putting his face in his hand, "you really _are _hopeless."

**The End**

**A/N**: Well, I hope you liked it! Reviews are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Eragon, Murtagh, Arya, and Saphira are not mine. They belong to Paolini. The last scene in the movie also does not belong to me. That belongs to the people who made the movie. I'm just borrowing it for this fic.

**A/N**: Hey! I wasn't originally planning on continuing this story, but upon the urging of most of you readers and reviewers, I decided to add one more chapter to it. But this really is the last one now. This takes place after the battle of Farthen Dur. Enjoy! 

Ch. 2: After the Battle…

Eragon nervously left his room and walked down the long hall toward his friend's room. He was so on edge because Murtagh wanted to see him. He had an idea about what he wanted to speak to him about, and it wasn't going to be good. He could have kicked himself. He was a Rider. He had defeated Durza the Shade, but he couldn't remember the correct way to talk to a girl. What kind of Rider was he?

Murtagh looked up when the door to his room opened and Eragon entered, looking down at the stone floor nervously. Though the room he was in was smaller than the Rider's, it was much better than the prison that he had been kept in before. "Do you know why you are here, Eragon?" he asked.

"Yes," Eragon answered nervously.

"How could you get the line wrong?!" Murtagh said in disbelief as he got to his feet. "You had the approach right, but then you said the wrong line! 'You look nice today'. What's so hard to remember about that?!" 

"I'm sorry. I was nervous," Eragon muttered. "Is there any way that I can fix this?"

"Clearly. Considering that you used the line I specifically told you _not_ to use, you might be out of luck," Murtagh told him. "But, since you're my friend and I can't stand the pathetic look on your face, I'll see what I can do."

Eragon smiled brightly. "Thank you, Murtagh!" he exclaimed. Then, his expression turned thoughtful. "Have you ever been in this situation before?"

"Where I messed up talking to a girl?" Murtagh said. "Never."

"How many girls have you had?" Eragon wondered curiously.

Murtagh's face flushed as he turned away from the Rider. "More than you will ever have…" he mumbled, but not loud enough for Eragon to hear.

Eragon's eyes narrowed. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Murtagh answered quickly, regaining his composure. "Where were we? Oh, that's right. Your problem with Arya. I'm afraid to say that there's only so much you can do in this situation…"

"How do you fix your problems with a girl?" Eragon said.

Murtagh laughed at the question. "Me? Problems?" Then, he cleared his throat. "As I said before, I have never been in this situation before. But if I were to be, the things I'd say are too advanced for you. You cannot ever get the 'You look nice today' line right…"

Eragon muttered some curses incoherently and sat down on the ground, crossing his arms and looking up at his friend. "So, what _can_ I do?" he wondered.

"Well," Murtagh muttered thoughtfully, "I would say that the best thing that you could do now is to act natural. Start up a conversation with her, but don't try to act too suave or anything because that will turn her off. But don't act too darkish like normal either, because then she won't treat you seriously. Just try to act as normal as possible… well, what's normal for most people, I mean."

The Rider glared up at him, which only made Murtagh laugh again. "What I mean to say is just say what comes naturally. That's what women like the most. You don't want it to sound too rehearsed, you know?"

Eragon nodded. "Right. I think I've got it now. Thank you so much, Murtagh!"

"You're welcome." Glad that I could help," Murtagh replied.

The Rider got to his feet. "Where is Arya anyway?" he asked. "I haven't seen her since the battle ended."

"She's off to Ellesmera," Murtagh answered with confusion. "I thought you knew that."

Eragon got to his feet with a loud curse and rushed out of the door of Murtagh's room into the hall, shouting back, "Thanks, Murtagh!"

Murtagh watched him leave with a sigh and then sat down on his bed, shaking his head. "The most I can say to you, Eragon, is good luck."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Eragon looked down on the sloping lawn beneath him and saw Arya racing across the landscape beneath him accompanied by four armed guards. Saphira dove down and gracefully landed before them as the five horses slowed to a stop. Eragon smiled and climbed down from Saphira when she got as low to the ground as she could while Arya got down from her horse. They began to walk towards each other.

"You never gave me the chance to say goodbye," Eragon said as he approached her.

"There was no time." Arya replied as she stopped in front of him. "Galbatorix will try to avenge this defeat. I must return to my people in Ellesmera. And you must prepare the Varden."

The elf then took a couple of steps closer and placed her hand on Eragon's shoulder, looking up into his eyes. "You lost those who were dear to you. You've paid a great price for you courage."

Eragon watched, awed, as she began to walk away from him again. "Did you know the people of the Varden already tell stories about you?" Arya asked with a playful smile. "The legend of Eragon, the great Shade slayer spreads throughout Alagaesia."

The Rider laughed a little. "Well, you know how legends go," Eragon answered as he returned the smile. "People will believe just about anything these days."

Arya laughed at his words.

From the hill a little distance behind them, Murtagh smirked to himself as his horse, Tornac, snorted. "Don't blow it now, Eragon. You're doing better than before at least…" he muttered to himself.

Eragon looked at the elf curiously. "When will I see you again?" he asked.

The elf looked back at him as she took a moment to consider her answer. "Time moves quickly," Arya finally answered. "Only yesterday, you were a farm boy. Today, you are a hero. Tomorrow may see us together again." Then, she smiled.

Eragon smiled back. "Then I'll be waiting for tomorrow."

Arya nodded. She watched him walk back toward Saphira with a smile.

_Tomorrow will come…_Saphira told Eragon when he approached her, _sooner than you think._

Eragon smiled up at the blue dragon before he climbed up onto her back.

The elf took a couple of steps closer again as the dragon got to her feet. "Take care of him, Saphira," Arya said.

_I will,_ Saphira told her reassuringly.

Eragon looked down and met Arya's gaze with a smile. The elf smiled back as she watched Saphira take off into the sky with a loud roar. Then, she turned back to her guards as Eragon flew higher.

Arya then climbed onto her horse. "Come!" she commanded, and the five horses began their pace as they raced across the lawn, Saphira flying low over them in the other direction as they headed back toward the Varden.

Murtagh smiled to himself as he started to make his way back to the Varden as well. "Well, at least you didn't completely blow it this time," he muttered, thinking about the Rider. "You still have a lot of work left to do, but you may have some hope left, Eragon."

The End 

**A/N**: That really is the end now. Hope you enjoyed it! Again, it was meant to be a oneshot, but I could luckily continue it. Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated.


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